The USA Basketball Women’s National Team program announced Thursday it will play a pair of exhibition games against college teams, and one of those contests will take place in Knoxville against Kellie Harper‘s Lady Vols on Nov. 5.
Tennessee and the USA National Team will meet on that Sunday at 6 p.m. ET in Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. Lady Vol season ticket holders will have an opportunity to purchase seats first for this game. Tickets will go on sale to the general public via AllVols.com on Wednesday, Oct. 4.
USA also will face Duke in Durham, N.C., on Nov. 12 at noon. The games will be contested as USA Basketball continues to evaluate the 2021-24 Women’s National Team player pool prior to naming a team for the 2024 Paris Olympics. USA roster information will be announced at a later date.
“As preparations continue for the 2024 Paris Olympics, the games against Tennessee and Duke, as well as training camp, will serve as important opportunities for the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Committee to evaluate players who have national team aspirations,” said Briana Weiss, USA Basketball women’s national team director. “USA Basketball has a long history of partnering with NCAA Division I programs to help prepare for major international competitions and we are grateful to these two programs for adding our games to their preseason slates.”
Between the two exhibitions, USA Basketball will host a training camp for members of the national team player pool from Nov. 7-9 in Atlanta.
USA Basketball Women’s National Team head coach Cheryl Reeve (Minnesota Lynx) will coach the USA in both games and lead training camp. She will be assisted by Mike Thibault (Washington Mystics) and Curt Miller (Los Angeles Sparks).
This will mark the fourth time the Lady Vols have welcomed the USA National Team to Rocky Top for an exhibition, holding a 1-2 all-time mark against that program. On all three previous occasions, the UT squads made their way to NCAA Final Fours at the end of those seasons, with two of them winning national championships (1996, 2008). Meanwhile, the USA teams went on to win gold in the Olympic Games of 1996, 2000 and 2008.
During her playing days, Harper (known then as Kellie Jolly) was a freshman on the 1995-96 Big Orange squad that welcomed former Lady Vols Nikki McCray and Carla McGhee and friends back to Rocky Top on Nov. 22, 1995. USA would win the affair, 82-58. The late McCray would sing the national anthem before the game and say ‘yes’ to Thomas Penson’s surprise marriage proposal on the court immediately following the contest.
On Nov. 7, 1999, Tennessee pulled off an upset, knocking off USA, 65-64, in Knoxville. The national team returned on Nov. 4, 2007, and the Lady Vols kept the deficit close before falling, 83-72.
“We are excited and honored to have the USA Basketball Women’s National Team join us for an exhibition game in Knoxville,” Harper said. “This is an incredible opportunity for our student-athletes to compete against the very best players in the world and showcase the game of basketball in front of a fan base that absolutely loves the sport.
“Having had the opportunity to take part in a match-up just like this in the same venue during my college playing career, I can tell you that you will never forget it. I hope all Tennessee fans will make plans to be there for this very special event.”
Dating back to 1995, USA Basketball has worked with NCAA women’s programs to help evaluate and prepare athletes for national team competitions, including the Olympic Games and FIBA Women’s World Cup. Most recently, USA Basketball played six exhibition games against NCAA Division I opponents prior to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
As part of its Olympic preparation, USA Basketball will participate in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in early February before hosting training camp in conjunction with the NCAA Women’s Final Four in Cleveland. Details will be confirmed at a later date.
Lady Vols To Host USA Women’s National Team On Nov. 5 At Food City Center
